Ulster 3-17
Munster 1-15
BARELY 100 TURNED out at Parnell Park to witness it but Ulster produced some stunning football at times to march confidently through to the Interprovincial football final.
Peter Harte’s 1-8 tally was highly impressive and the Tyrone talisman narrowly edged out Armagh’s Stefan Campbell, who kicked five points from play, to the man of the match award.
Centre-forward Harte nailed his goal from the penalty spot late on following earlier net blasts by Aidan Breen of Fermanagh and Derry’s Enda Lynn.
Those Breen and Lynn goals came in a burst of Ulster scoring in the second quarter of the game that saw Pete McGrath’s side outscore Munster by 2-7 to no score.
That blitzkrieg effectively killed off Munster, who had started well, and secured Ulster’s place in the final alongside Connacht at a time and venue to be confirmed at some stage next weekend.
Ger O’Sullivan’s Munster raced into a 0-5 to 0-2 lead early on with three points from Waterford’s Paul Whyte and one from Kerry’s Tommy Walsh who had a quiet game before being substituted.
But Ulster took over from there and that 2-7 blast put them well in the clear as they hit the interval with a 2-9 to 0-6 advantage.
Connor McAliskey of Tyrone played the final pass for both goals though the second goal was particularly sweet as Lynn kicked expertly over a defender and Munster goalkeeper Evan Comerford to the top corner of the net.
There was a strong response from Munster after the restart and they outscored Ulster by 1-5 to 0-2 to reduce their arrears to just three points after 43 minutes, 2-11 to 1-11.
Munster’s goal came from Jamie Malone while fellow Clare man David Tubridy kicked three points after his introduction.
Ulster finished strong though and Campbell, Harte and Fermanagh’s Tomas Corrigan all hit the scoring trail again before that late penalty which gave the scoreline a slightly flattering appearance at full-time.
Aidan O’Mahony, the lone player from Kerry’s Championship panel in the Munster setup, captained the team but was black carded approaching half-time.
Scorers for Ulster: Peter Harte 1-8 (0-4f, 1-0 pen), Stefan Campbell 0-5, Tomas Corrigan 0-4 (0-2f), Enda Lynn 1-0, Aidan Breen 1-0.
Scorers for Munster: Paul Whyte 0-4 (0-3f), Jamie Malone 1-0, David Tubridy 0-3, Ian Corbett 0-2, Gary Brennan 0-1, Tommy Walsh 0-1, Brian Fox 0-1, Keelan Sexton 0-1, Ruairi Deane 0-1, Conor Sweeney 0-1 (0-1f)
ULSTER
1. Niall Morgan (Tyrone)
4. Darren O’Hagan (Down)
3. Killian Clarke (Cavan)
2. Michael Jones (Fermanagh)
5. Tiernan McCann (Tyrone)
6. Conor Moynagh (Cavan)
7. Aidan Breen (Fermanagh)
8. Eoin Donnelly (Fermanagh)
9. Charlie Vernon (Armagh)
10. Kevin Niblock (Antrim)
11. Peter Harte (Tyrone)
12. Enda Lynn (Derry)
21. Stefan Campbell (Armagh)
13. Conor McAliskey (Tyrone)
15. Tomas Corrigan (Fermanagh)
Subs:
22. Mark Bradley (Tyrone) for McAliskey (38 mins)
23. Ryan Johnston (Down) for Lynn (43 mins)
24. Niall Sludden (Tyrone) for Moynagh (43 mins)
20. Tony Kernan (Armagh) for Niblock (46 mins)
18. Declan McCusker (Fermanagh) for McCann (50 mins)
17. Gerard McGovern (Down) for Jones (59 mins)
McAliskey for Bradley (60 mins)
16. C Snow (Fermanagh) for Morgan (62 mins)
MUNSTER
1. Evan Comerford (Tipperary)
3. Kevin Hartnett (Clare)
17. Alan Campbell (Tipperary)
4. Tomas O’Gorman (Waterford)
5. Ian Corbett (Waterford
7. Conor Dorman (Cork)
2. Colm O’Driscoll (Cork)
8. Gary Brennan (Clare)
6. Aidan O’Mahony (Kerry)
10. Jamie Malone (Clare)
11. Paul Whyte (Waterford)
12. Kevin O’Driscoll (Cork)
13. Eoin Cleary (Clare)
14. Tommy Walsh (Kerry)
15. Conor Sweeney (Tipperary)
Subs:
18. David Tubridy (Clare) for Cleary (20 mins)
23. Patrick Hurney (Waterford) for Sweeney (20 mins)
19. Brian Fox (Tipperary) for K O’Driscoll (28 mins)
22. Darragh Treacy (Limerick) for O’Mahony (29 mins, black card)
20. Ruairi Deane (Cork) for Brennan (h/t)
24. Keelan Sexton (Clare) for Whyte (h/t)
Brennan for Malone (39 mins)
K O’Driscoll for Walsh (44 mins)
Sweeney for Hurney (50 mins)
11. Michael Quinlivan (Tipperary) for Treacy (54 mins)
16. Ciaran Kenrick (Tipperary) for Comerford (59 mins)
Referee: Anthony Nolan (Wicklow).
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Not the prettiest win in the world but a wins a win. Mctominay is getting better with every game.
A wins a win. Can see Scott moving into cb soon enough.
@Paully Kells: he was excellent. Ya wouldn’t be a bad choice for CB. Mobile, strong can play a bit of football. Good result tonight but performance was poor. But a wins a win
Once again Van De Beek looked brilliant on and off the ball. Go on Ole spring him in against the pool!
@Niall Mc Gourty: I’m hoping that he’s just being eased in. It’s a far more physically demanding league than the Dutch league. But he has looked really good in the glimpses we’ve gotten
@Niall Mc Gourty: Current midfield is Fred, Mctominay, Bruno. Then Pogba depending on formation and players available. VDB should be starting ahead of Pogba. He should be sold now but they have to wait until the summer. VDB will take that position permanently next season. Cavanis form means Ole prefers the 4-3-3 again so not much room if you want Martial and Rashford starting
@Dave O Keeffe: Sums it up perfectly.
@Alan Kenny: Yeah he prefers Pogba, Pogba will need to be smarter in possession against Liverpool, Bruno is allowed to try things and take risks but the other 3 have to be more sensible that’s why i think Van de Beek should start plus hes a harder worker than Pogba. I’m expecting him to go with the 4 in midfield and 2 up top against Liverpool.
Wait….. What…. No penalty?